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The United States has announced criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro over his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, an incident that killed four people, including U.S. nationals.
U.S. prosecutors say the indictment includes charges such as conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, and destruction of an aircraft, and was unsealed in federal court in Miami on Wednesday.
The case relates to the 1996 incident in which Cuban fighter jets shot down the planes, which Washington says were in international airspace, though Cuba has long disputed that account.
The move marks a significant escalation in already strained U.S.-Cuba relations, with officials framing it as an effort to hold foreign leaders accountable, while Cuban authorities and critics describe it as politically motivated.